


Never a Selfie

by Ilavenil



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Horror (sort of), vampire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-27
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2020-07-21 05:36:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19996726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ilavenil/pseuds/Ilavenil
Summary: The narrator meets a lovely young woman. Gentle, strong, kind hearted...





	Never a Selfie

She was sitting on the bottom-most stair, a tiny figure, hunched over. As the last person to leave the building, I was concerned. What was this child doing here alone?

“Hey” I said, “Can I help you?”

She looked up, and I saw that she was a young woman. A pretty young woman, with lovely but serious features. When she spoke, she barely moved her lips. 

“I wanted to come in, but I didn't.” She mumbled.

“Were you shy?” I asked.

“No, they were taking selfies. I don't like them. Never a selfie!” She shook her head.

Now that was one of the strangest excuses I've heard for not stepping into a Toastmasters meeting. And she was different from any guest I had met before. We began to talk - about selfies, and books, and history and writing, till I finally looked at the time.

“It's late, I need to get home” I said. 

“Let me drop you” she said, and brought her car. She drove me home, and I invited her in. And that is when I knew she was going to be a very close friend.

“You have a telescope?” She said. “I absolutely love watching the stars!!”

So we took the telescope up. Or rather, she carried it up. She was incredibly strong for a short, lithe woman. And her eyes were equally sharp. After a few exhilarating hours, she bid farewell, with both of us promising to meet again the next evening.

The next evening, I met her outside the hospital where she worked as a nurse. She worked 12 hour shifts without taking overtime pay. She carried dog biscuits for stray dogs, helped at a home for the aged on weekends…Every time I met her, there was a new layer of goodness to be seen. But she never smiled. 

One day she looked tired and I reached for her shoulder. But she held my arm back. I was surprised at the strength, and more surprised at the anger on her face. 

“Never touch me.” She almost snarled. “You do not know what I've been through. I cannot bear being touched!”

Past trauma. That explained the sadness. But now, I wanted to do something for her, to bring her out of the sadness. I went to sleep wondering what I could do. 

The next morning I woke up to heavy knocking on my door. Two police personnel - a man and a woman stood there. "Come with us, immediately!" The policeman said. 

The worst fears ran through me in the ride to the station. They escorted me into the station, and suddenly, the policewoman put an arm out in front of me. 

The policeman walked forward and opened a door. She was there, chained to a table. She was very pale. I moved towards her, but the policewoman held me back. They closed the door.

“Do you know her?” She asked.  
“Yes” I replied.  
“We have checked her birth records, her education records - all of them are fabricated”  
“Why is she so pale? What did you do to her?” I screamed.  
“Nothing. The rain when we brought her here washed off her make-up”  
“Why is she chained like that? You can't do that even to a criminal!” I shouted again.  
“Miss, please." The policewoman said. I noticed her voice shaking. "The little sunshine through the window burned her, and she was caught in the blood bank surrounded by empty packets.”  
I felt cold. This had to be a prank. It had to be. But the policeman just threw open the door again. “Do you see a shadow?” The policewoman asked.  
There wasn't, in spite of the huge bulb over her head. “You're making a mistake.” I pleaded. “She wouldn't hurt a single living thing” 

The next moment, she snapped off the chain and the table flew against the wall. I tried to run, but found myself held immobile, pinned to the wall, facing her. And for the first time, she smiled. And I saw the reason for her never smiling before. 

“Do you believe what you said? That I wouldn't hurt a single living thing?” She asked. Her eyes were hypnotic. I could not lie without her knowing. Without conscious thought, I said “Yes”

The next moment, I was on the floor. She was gone. There was carnage all around me. 

I was asked to give a statement, then sent home. I was so shaken that I was given a month's leave for emotional trauma. 

I soon returned to my usual routine, with one exception - I now get messages and photos from strange numbers, strange places. But never, ever do I get a Selfie.

All right, I'm not telling the truth, I'm just making things up. Who gets a month's leave for emotional trauma?


End file.
